Apple Bid to Block Samsung Tablet Sales Set for June 29

A visitor tries out a Samsung Electronics Co. Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet computer at the World IT Show 2012 in Seoul, South Korea. Photographer: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg

June 22 (Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc.’s request for a court
order blocking U.S. sales of Samsung Electronics Co.’s Galaxy
Tab 10.1 tablet computer is scheduled for a court hearing next
week, a federal judge said.

U.S. District Judge Lucy H. Koh in San Jose, California,
said she also hopes to rule on Apple’s request to block sales of
Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus smartphone before the June 29 hearing.
This month, she expedited evidence sharing for Apple’s bid to
block sales of Samsung’s latest Galaxy smartphone, the Galaxy S
III.

The world’s two biggest makers of high-end phones have
accused each other of copying designs and technology for mobile
devices and are fighting patent battles in four continents to
retain their dominance in the $219 billion global smartphone
market. The June 29 hearing will address Apple’s third request
to block sales of Samsung’s tablet computer.

On June 4, Koh rejected Apple’s second request to ban the
tablet sales while the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal
Circuit in Washington was considering her first such denial in
December. Koh said then she didn’t have jurisdiction to issue a
preliminary injunction because the appeals court hadn’t issued a
mandate.

Appeals Court

On June 19, the appeals court reaffirmed its May
determination that Apple’s patent on a design of the tablet is
likely to withstand challenges to its validity. That decision
allowed the Cupertino, California-based company to renew its
request to block sales of Samsung’s tablet in the U.S.

Harold McElhinny, a lawyer for Apple, told Koh yesterday
that the appeals court mandate was issued, and that she might
receive it in the mail as early as tomorrow.

Koh’s comments about the June 29 hearing and her pending
ruling on the Nexus smartphone came at the conclusion of a
hearing in which both companies sought pre-trial rulings to
streamline their cases.

The judge said she was unlikely to rule in favor of either
side on their requests. She told the companies to narrow their
claims in the litigation.

Samsung yesterday began rolling out its Galaxy S III
flagship smartphone in the U.S. through T-Mobile USA Inc. The
touch-screen device will be available from the three other
largest U.S. carriers -- Verizon Wireless, AT&T Inc. and Sprint
Nextel Corp. -- in the coming weeks, the Suwon, South Korean-based company said yesterday in a statement.

Galaxy S III

Apple, anticipating sales of the new phone, told Koh at a
previous hearing it was considering filing a request for a
temporary restraining order blocking the Galaxy S III before its
release. Lawyers for Apple said the move was forced by Samsung’s
tactic of releasing new generations of products before courts
around the world are able to rule on whether earlier products
infringed the patents involved in lawsuits.

Apple dropped its request for a restraining order when Koh
said it might delay a July 30 trial date.

The case is Apple Inc. v. Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., 11-cv-1846, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
(San Jose).